Edge is the new Microsoft browser (code name: Spartan). It will be released with Windows 10 whose launch is announced for July 29. The publisher has Edge as a new generation of browser, powerful, innovative, and especially designed for the modern web. It is already possible to test it in beta by downloading the Windows 10 desktop Preview, or Windows 10 beta Mobile (designed for smartphones and tablets). Edge will not replace Microsoft Internet Explorer completely, but will be offered as an alternative to it. It will be integrated with Windows 10 alongside IE that will remain present in the desktop version of the OS.

A browser that is more efficient than Chrome and Firefox

Microsoft insists on the optimization work conducted around the motor of its browser. Objective: To accelerate the implementation of websites, including improved JavaScript JIT compiler Chakra. According to the publisher, the optimization allow Edge to go well beyond the JavaScript execution performance of Chrome and Firefox. In support of its analysis, it highlights the results recorded by the browser during the Jet Stream tests (developed by Apple) and Octane 2.0 (proposed by Google).

The results of the Jet Stream test states that Microsoft Edge runs web applications 1.6 times faster than Internet Explorer 11. According Octane test, it would even be 2 times more efficient in this exercise as its predecessor. Both comparisons were made with a variation of browsers on an HP machine (equipped with Windows 10) with 12 GB of RAM and a next generation processor (Intel Core i7 860 CPU clocked at 2.80GHz).

Cortana Integration

Microsoft has also integrated the browser Cortana. Limited for now to the beta of Microsoft Edge in the US version of Windows 10, the personal voice assistant allows particularly the pushing of content associated with current web page view. If it is the site of a company, Cortana may propose a route to the office of that company from your location, associated content, or trace a contact of this company you have saved in your phone book.

Support extensions

Another major change compared to Internet Explorer was announced: Microsoft Edge will support the extensions. In April, the group hit hard by announcing that extensions designed for Firefox and Chrome can be worn under Edge with minor changes.

And for web site developers?

Initially, Microsoft Edge must be fitted with the MSHTML rendering engine (based on Trident), to ensure browser compatibility with sites designed for older versions of IE. This is what Microsoft has indicated in a post published on January 22. It will eventually be the case. In a post on 24 March, Microsoft said it had changed its mind. Edge will be limited to Edge HTML new engine designed by the American group to support the latest web standards. The publisher also emphasizes the work of its teams to support these standards “on the model of other modern browsers.”